Latest: Shootings deadliest for law enforcement since 9/11

DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):

5:20 a.m.

A memorial group says the slaying of five police officers in Dallas in an attack blamed on snipers was the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Four Dallas police officers and one Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer were fatally shot Thursday night. The gunfire happened during protests over this week’s fatal police shootings of two black men, in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Six other officers were wounded in the Dallas attacks.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which monitors the deaths of officers, reports 72 officers were killed as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. The group labels that attack as the deadliest day in U.S. law enforcement history.

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Online:

http://www.nleomf.org/facts/enforcement/deadliest.html

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4:30 a.m.

President Barack Obama says America is “horrified” over the shootings of police officers in Dallas and there’s no possible justification for the attacks.

Obama is speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he’s meeting with leaders of the European Union and attending a NATO summit.

Obama says justice will be done and he’s asking all Americans to pray for the fallen officers and their families. He also says the nation should express its gratitude to those serving in law enforcement.

Snipers opened fire on police officers in the heart of Dallas Thursday evening, killing five officers and injuring six others during protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Obama said earlier there was no contradiction between supporting law enforcement and making certain biases in the justice system are rooted out.

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2:30 a.m.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit has identified its officer who was fatally shot when snipers opened fire during a downtown Dallas protest.

DART said early Friday morning that 43-year-old officer Brent Thompson was killed in the Thursday night shootings. He’d joined the DART Police Department in 2009.

DART says he’s the first officer killed in the line of duty since the agency formed a police department in 1989. The statement says “our hearts are broken.”

DART says the other three DART police officers shot during the protest are expected to recover from their injuries.

Also killed during the shootings were four Dallas police officers.

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2:10 a.m.

Police say a fifth officer has died after snipers opened fire on police at a rally in Dallas. Six other officers were injured.

The gunfire broke out Thursday night while hundreds of people were gathered to protest fatal police shootings this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Three people are in custody and a fourth suspect was exchanging gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown early Friday.

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2 a.m.

A family member says a protester who was shot when snipers opened fire on police at a rally in Dallas was shielding her sons when she was injured.

A sister of 37-year-old Shetamia Taylor says Taylor was at the protests Thursday night with her four sons, ages 12 to 17. Theresa Williams says that when the shooting began, Taylor threw herself over her sons. She was undergoing surgery early Friday after being shot in the right calf.

Police say four police officers were killed and seven injured in the shootings. The shootings happened at a protest over recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Williams says two of Taylor’s sons became separated from their mother in the chaotic aftermath. She says they’re now stuck behind a police barricade at a hotel near a parking garage where police exchanged gunfire with a suspect.

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1:40 a.m.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he’s cutting short an out-of-state trip to go to Dallas after four police officers were killed and seven others injured when snipers opened fire during protests.

Abbott said in a release early Friday morning that he would be heading directly to Dallas. The shootings happened Thursday night in downtown Dallas.

Abbott also says he’s spoken with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to express his condolences and offer any assistance the city needs.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in a statement that “our thoughts and prayers go out to these officers and their families, and to those who have been injured.” He said his office is in close contact with local authorities and will be offering to provide whatever support they can to help victims and bring the “perpetrators to justice.”

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1:15 a.m.

Dallas police say a person of interest whose picture had been circulated has turned himself in.

Police earlier had circulated a picture of a man in a camouflage T-shirt who carrying a long gun.

Police had no update on whether that person was indeed a suspect. However, Police Chief David Brown said authorities had three people in custody. One is a woman and two are people who were in a car stopped on a road.

A man who identified himself as the brother of the man whose photo was circulated says his brother was not one of the shooters. He told television station KTVT that once the shootings had started, his brother had turned the gun over to a police officer.

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12:50 a.m.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown says three people are in custody after snipers opened fire on police officers during protests and says a fourth person is exchanging gunfire with officers.

Brown said at an early Friday morning news conference that authorities are negotiating with a suspect in a downtown parking garage who has been exchanging gunfire with officials.

The chief says the suspect is not cooperating and has told negotiators he intends to hurt more law enforcement officials.

The shooting attack killed four officers and injured seven others. It came amid protests over two recent fatal police shootings of black men.

Brown says authorities are not certain all suspects have been located.

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12:30 a.m.

Dallas police say they are questioning two occupants of a vehicle after an officer saw a person throw a bag into the back of the vehicle and speed off.

Police said late Thursday night that an officer spotted someone carrying a camouflage bag and quickly walking down the street. The person then threw the bag into the back of a black Mercedes and sped off at a high rate of speed.

Police say officers followed the vehicle southbound on Interstate 35 to a point south of Dallas where they performed a traffic stop. Police then began questioning both occupants of the vehicle.

Television footage showed many police cars surrounding a vehicle stopped on Interstate 35.

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11:35 p.m.

Dallas police say a suspect in shooting of officers at Dallas protests is in custody and a person of interest has surrendered.

Dallas police say four officers have died after at least two snipers opened fire during protests downtown Thursday night. Seven other officers were wounded.

Police Chief David O. Brown said snipers shot from “elevated positions” during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.

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10:45 p.m.

The Dallas police chief says it appears two snipers shot 10 police officers during protests, and three of the officers are dead.

Police Chief David O. Brown said in a statement that three of the officers who were injured are in critical condition Thursday night. He says the snipers shot from “elevated positions” during a protest over two recent fatal police shootings.

The gunfire broke out around 8:45 p.m. Thursday. Live TV video showed protesters marching along a street in downtown when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover.